California Vintage Motorcycle Images

[Cindi Hammons]

My great-uncle (Vivian Cornwell's uncle) lived in Southern California for most of his life and was involved in the motorcycle culture from the 1920's on. Mom recently got one of Uncle Frank's photo albums which had tons of photos from the 1930's and 1940's. Apparently he was a member of the Compton Rough Riders Motorcycle Club.

I just thought I'd share them here as there may be other motorcycle enthusiasts who would be interested in seeing them.

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This is a photo of my great-grandmother and my uncle in Dayton, Ohio.

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The aftermath of a 1930's Southern California earthquake.

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Some of the Compton Rough Riders. My uncle is seated on the left.

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George Beerup motorcycle sales with my uncle on the right.

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Early 1930's.

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Uncle Frank in Dayton, Ohio. I'm guessing from the late 1920's.

[Cindi Hammons]

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A group of the Compton Rough Riders in the 1940's (?).

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My uncle is in the sidecar. Unknown location.

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Interesting looking group. My uncle is second from the right.

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A very early picture of my uncle and a passenger. I love the outfits they wore for safety. Looks similar to early aviation garb.

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A group of my uncle's friends somewhere in Southern California. My uncle is second from the left.

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This photo had written on the back that he chose to take his Harley-Davidson to the races that day because it ran faster. He said that he got up to 94 m.p.h. that day. Several of his photos mentioned racing on Monroe Dry Lakebed.

[Cindi Hammons]

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My uncle showing how to tow your Harley-Davidson without at trailer.

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My uncle at Monroe Dry Lake

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I like this photo with the car in the background.

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A motorcycle rally of sorts on the beach (pier unknown) in Southern California. Notice the "Indian" shirts.

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My uncle in action. Many of his photos showed "Hill Climb" competitions.

[Wanda Van Winkle]

Thanks for the photos. I'll leave them up on the computer screen for Michael to view, too.

[Vivian Cornwell]

Cindi, the pictures look good. Uncle Frank loved motorcycles. He was born around 1905. He moved to California when he was in his early 20's. My dad also moved to California and worked there for a while. Then he came back to Dayton, Oh, proposed to my mother, and they got married and left for California the day they got married. They lived in California three years. My oldest sister was born in Los Angeles. My parents came back to Dayton, Ohio and lived there the rest of their lives.

Uncle Frank would come back and visit the family every few years. One time he bought a large bus for a trip and toured the country. He brought it to our house (I was just a kid living at home) and parked it there for a few days and visited us. Uncle Frank never got married. He spent his life around motorcycles. He died in California when he was around 87 years old.

[Kevin Bowser]

Thanks for these pictures. Even though I don't know any one in them, I still loved looking at them. I especially liked this batch of them. Although the one of the hil climb in the last batch was my favorite single photo. Was that the first ever "X-games"?

[Mark Doble]

FANTASTIC CINDY! I love the hill climbing pic.! I have done that myself and it is really a thrill too.

They are very original. :fav18

[Cindi Hammons]

Mark,

I had you in mind when I posted the photos. We have over 70 images, some trick riding, several hill climbing, and lots of him posing with his bikes and his friends. Apparently, he was quite proud of his bikes. From the backs of the photos and famly talk, he owned both Harley-Davidson and Indian motorcycles.

Thanks for your comments.

[G R 'Scott' Cundiff]

Very interesting photos. I imagine some of the families of other people pictured would love to see them if you knew how to find them.

Thanks for sharing.

[Cindi Hammons]

Very interesting photos. I imagine some of the families of other people pictured would love to see them if you knew how to find them.

Thanks for sharing.

Yes, I'm sure. I've tried looking up the Compton Rough Rider Motorcycle Club with little luck. I'd gladly share digital copies of anything I have with people in the photos. Unfortunately, very few have writing on the reverse. The only I.D. I found is a guy named "Pink." It may be a lost cause.

Thanks for your comments.

[Joel Merrill]

I showed these pictures to my biker friends at work last night. I really had them drooling. When you get time, you should scan the rest of them and put the on a web site like smug mug or photo bucket and post the link so we can see them all.

Thanks, Joel :fav18